Well, no. But the European Parliament’s top staffer on Monday gained approval for a “formal inauguration” that’s as close as possible to the U.S. presidential model, as part of his plans to boost awareness of the 2019 European elections — think of an open-air spectacular in front of the largest possible crowd.

Klaus Welle, the Parliament’s secretary-general, tried to get support for the idea at a meeting of leading MEPs in Strasbourg on Monday — and he got it, according to two people present in the closed-door meeting.

The Parliament’s bureau — President Antonio Tajani and the 14 vice presidents — took a decision on the Parliament’s 2018 budget Monday evening, the sources said.

The section of the agenda on the budgetary implications of the European elections in 2019 foresee a total expenditure of €33 million in 2018 and 2019, the bulk of it for “publication, information and participation in public events” ahead of the campaign. It is not clear how much a public inauguration would cost, if it went ahead.

There are only a few solid plans on what the campaign itself should look like. It will be based, according to Welle’s report, “on the key element of the 2014 campaign: the lead candidates, an irreversible process.”

That process, pushed by Welle, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, saw the leader of the largest political group in the election become president of the Commission — the so-called Spitzenkandidaten process that handed Juncker the top job after his center-right European People’s Party won the most seats in the parliamentary election.

But not everybody bought into the idea of a public swearing-in of Juncker’s successor.

Juncker didn’t want to comment on the plans but people familiar with his thinking say that he is happy with the way Commission presidents (and commissioners) currently get sworn in: before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg during a decades-old, decidedly un-fancy ceremony.

Welle wants to make changes to it. “The secretary-general has a huge interest in American democracy,” said Sylvie Guillaume, a French vice president of the assembly. Since he took office in 2009, Welle’s ambition for the Parliament has been to model it on the U.S. Congress, including an in-house think tank similar to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.

The idea of a public swearing-in isn’t new. The idea was “scrubbed” a few years ago, Guillaume said. According to people involved in the talks, former Parliament President Schulz was furious when he learned about the potential implications of a “formal inauguration” of the Commission chief.

Welle told POLITICO that a decision was a long way off. “The conception for the 2019 election is being designed by the working group on communication of the newly elected bureau and then being put in front of the bureau for a decision, presumably in the fall,” he said in an email.

Guillaume isn’t convinced, saying, “I have the feeling that everything is already written” in stone.

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CSK

They’re going to have to hire ‘extras’ if they want anyone to attend.

What bubble, or planet, does Welle inhabit?!! For once, Juncker has the right approach.

Posted on 3/13/17 | 7:43 PM CEST

bojo's mojo

@CSK: They wouldn’t need to hire extras, there’s plenty of real EU support out there, just like there’s plenty of EU detractors. It’s dangerous to consider the entire population as a single block of people, all with the same anti-EU opinion as many commenters here. That’s the same narrative that Trump is using, with his “movement” of “the people” against “the elites”. The truth is much more fragmented – half the population is pro-EU, half the population is against. Speakers on both sides try to co-opt the other half by claiming that they speak for “the people”, while in truth they only speak for their half.

Posted on 3/13/17 | 8:48 PM CEST

Tim

I just can’t see this happening. Having said that, I don’t think it would hurt to make the swearing in before the Court into some kind of formal public mini-event. I think there is some important symbolism in that, the idea that the president of the commission works for the public, not a self-serving bureaucracy. And perhaps the swearing in should be done at the parliament. Just don’t expect any crowds 😉

Posted on 3/13/17 | 8:50 PM CEST

Maverick

You could do it twice. Once in Strasbourg and again in Brussels. The EU clearly has money to burn 🙂

Posted on 3/14/17 | 1:27 PM CEST

CSK

@bojo’s mojo

You’re talking stark black and white, pro- or anti-EU; I am referring to the apathy of the majority, which is the same the world over.

Posted on 3/14/17 | 1:44 PM CEST

Asan

Crazy, irrational people. They are on Titanic, and drinking wine before it sinks…

Posted on 3/14/17 | 3:29 PM CEST

maciekimaciek

EU is fast and efficient organizing parties only.

Posted on 3/14/17 | 4:12 PM CEST

bojo's mojo

@CSK: touché 🙂

But still, there’s 500 million people in Europe, even if 99% people couldn’t care less, and .5% on either side would be passionately pro or against, that’s still more than enough people to get a reasonable crowd. The accusation of an enthusiastic crowd being “hired extras” is often thrown around to dismiss support for political opponents, but I really don’t see something like that happening in the EU. That’s all I wanted to say.

Posted on 3/14/17 | 8:53 PM CEST

Ap

So second rate EU politicians want a first rate inauguration – how novel.

(actually not, you see that everywhere in despondent third world dictatorships so what to say, they are in good company …)

Posted on 3/15/17 | 6:51 PM CEST

Giuseppe Marrosu

@Ap
could you elaborate on your analogy between 3rd world dictators and the president of the EU Commission?
I cannot see a link because the EU does not belong to the 3rd World and the pres. of the EUC is not a dictator (has a fraction of the power of a typical democratic leader -which is already considerably less than the power of a dictator- and has been at least indirectly chosen by the voters).
I think the idea is risky but beautiful. The risk is that a large portion of the population would resent public honours to be given to a leader they do not see as legitimate (remember he/she is not DIRECTLY elected). Giving public visibility to the President of the EU Commission however would raise awareness both in the population and in the President himself of his role as a leader for all EU citizens, and even the abovementioned criticism could help, creating a stronger demand for a more democratic nominating process.

Posted on 3/16/17 | 3:16 PM CEST

Justice

Little Europeaners with their delusions of grandeur

Posted on 3/18/17 | 10:11 AM CEST

Nadia

This could help get the EU more substantial, less abstract.
However, what’s more needed is real reforms, with real elections of a EU (Commission) President with more power to the Commission and the Parliament. Right now we’re stuck in the middle and that gives a lot of insecureness while it’s easy for national rulers to blame the EU for their failure.
Don’t forget, there are now many generations growing up in the EU, not their local province. They will travel, study, and work all around the EU and they’ll expect the EU to function as a state. Those negative voices are a dying breed that’s mostly fed by fear and insecureness, like the Brexiteers. Soon we will see the final stage of the collapse of what was once the British Empire and Scotland will join the EU first while Britain will economically implode. That will be the beginning of a true federalisation of the EU. That will be the birth of true Europeans!

Posted on 3/18/17 | 1:18 PM CEST

Drakes drum

Another useless plan to spend other peoples money…. typical unelected politician who no one has heard of trying to climb the greasy pole. They should sort basic stuff out like unemployment among the youth of europe or the euro mess that threatens the banks of Italy and Spain, or maybe the impending migrant invasion that will soon start. But no, let’s try and be more like the USA with a big ceremony so we look like a big country. Your not, your an economic alliance that has tried to force too many disparate countries into one and is failing. Don’t ice a cake if it hasn’t risen, bake it again until someone wants to eat it.

Posted on 3/19/17 | 11:00 AM CEST

wow

Delusional!

POTUS: World’s only superpower, Foreign and diplomatic powerhouse, Unsecurity veto of only 5, largest nuclear weapons stockpile, One of only 7 nuclear powers, HIghest GDP country in world, Member of worlds’ largest trading blocks, Largest Hard Power, One of Largest financial centres, Largest amount of financial centres, World soft power, Largest military-defence spending, Largest world military-intelligence, founding member of all International Organisations…… can’t even carry on so many!

EU Pres: One of the world’s smallest trading blocks. Has no power whatsoever, except micro-managing peole’s lightbulb regulations. Takes credit for members achievements, even if they had nothing to do with it.

Unfortunately, If more power was given, which can only be done by using economic blackmail to *take* it from it’s members (who do currently have power)….. All members would leave.

Posted on 3/19/17 | 10:35 PM CEST

wow

@Nadia ‘Those negative voices are a dying breed’ Didn’t Wilders get more votes than last time?

I don’t like WIlders by the way, just saying… the facts don’t support you. Also the last bit there where you’re re-born….. bit much?